The invention relates generally to vehicles, and more specifically to ground-based vehicles used for human transport.
Personal transportation takes many forms and has existed since prehistoric times. Beasts of burden have transported humans and cargo for millennia and in the past century machines have replaced animals as vehicles. Wheeled vehicles include wagons, bicycles and automobiles, and such vehicles have two or more wheels in contact with the ground while in motion. Three or more wheels are required for stability while stationary, and so most modern vehicles for human transportation have three or more wheels.
One disadvantage of a vehicle with three or four wheels is that every wheel in contact with the ground increases the rolling friction, along with wind resistance, of the vehicle. Furthermore, each wheel encounters, and transfers to the vehicle, shock forces when the wheel contacts something other than a smooth road. Bumps and holes in roads upon which the vehicle's wheels roll interrupt the round wheel rolling along the planar road surface, thereby causing discomfort and possibly damage to the vehicle, passengers and cargo. Although virtually every modern vehicle uses a passive and/or active suspension to connect its wheels to the vehicle's body, bumps and holes in roads still create sudden forces that are transmitted to the contents of the vehicle's body.
Existing technology has attempted to address some of the problems with conventional wheeled vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,757,700 discloses a wing on the roof of a vehicle for the purpose of creating lift to reduce the effective weight of the vehicle. Lift and drag are produced when a fluid flows over a wing. Other patents referred to by Applicant have related structures and/or mechanisms. However, none capably addresses the shortfall of efficiency and comfort from which conventional vehicles suffer.